One More Day
by AmandaTheVampireLove
Summary: Julian gets one week to correct his mistakes and get Jenny, inspired by the song One more Day
1. Part 1

AN: Okay people, it goes like this. I noticed exactly how awful this was too. I'm re-doing it. I hope that it's just a little better. Anyway, yeah. This is the original story, with a lot added in, and a lot better, hopefully! Yay with the re-doness. I hope that you enjoy it! Please review and tell me how I did!

One More Day:

Part 1:

Julian opened his eyes to lights. The fact that he had opened his eyes at all was a miracle to him. The fact that an iridescent light nearly blinded him was something else completely. It was something that he had never expected to witness again.

He heard his own elemental voice call out, "What's going on here." Completely rhetorical, and meant solely to have been spoken to himself. Shockingly, he got an answer.

"You're in heaven." The voice that answered was deep and resonating, and he could scarcely believe what he had heard. _Heaven? _No… that couldn't be possible. He must have heard wrong.

"What?" Suddenly the insubordinate tone in his voice bothered him. He had never cared about what he sounded like before… what was the difference now? He did, however, quickly change his wording.

"Why?"

Again, that deep voice answered. "Because, it did not end right." The voice reverberated through him, full of command and dignity. He couldn't believe this, he truly couldn't.

"What didn't end right?" An extremely puzzled tone lilted his voice.

"You're life." The answer came as if any fool should have known it. Julian himself was left nearly speechless.

"M-my life?" For the first time since his 'birth', Julian stuttered.

"Yes Julian, your life." The voice paused, but continued before Julian could ask any more questions. "Jenny is your soulmate Julian, you two were meant to be together. She is your other half, and you are hers."

This time Julian could complete the sentence before the voice. "We make each other whole." He seemed to feel an overwhelming sense of satisfaction radiating down from the voice, so he continued on. "I knew that. I knew that from the first time I saw her, bathed in light… but she never realized… not until the end." He said this more to himself then anyone.

"One week." This sudden statement pulled Julian from his musing thoughts.

"What?"

"One week. One week to go back and try it again. You did not approach the situation correctly. Think on everything that you learned the last time Julian. You could do this so much better."

A thought flashed through Julian's head. A simple phrase that Jenny had mentioned to him more than once; 'Did it ever occur to you that you could just appear at my front door, no games, no threats, and just ask me?' Until then, Julian had never really given it a second thought.

"Yes Julian," He knew that the voice had heard his thoughts. "You have one week to make her feel the same away about you that you feel about her… if you cannot then I will be forced to make your fate remain the same as before. Be warned: I give second chances very rarely. Do not take this opportunity lightly." It seemed to pause, as if collecting its thoughts. "Oh, and by the way. Do not tell her about yourself or she will remember everything."

With that Julian's world faded to black.

An shrieking sound pierced Julian's awareness. He woke with a start, realizing that it was an alarm clock. The second thing that he realized was that he was tangled in a black silk sheet. He looked at the clock, and it suddenly exploded…. His powers weren't gone.

He suddenly remembered everything: The voice, the limit… Jenny. Second chances.

His cobalt eyes flashed around the room, taking in his surroundings; his eyes flickered to a calendar. There was one date circled in heavy red pen… one week from today…

Today was 'The Day'. It was the day when everything had started, the day when he had taken Jenny and her friends into the game… He had exactly one week until he had to go back and he planned to do things right this time. Jenny would be his.

Suddenly, dawning horror invaded his thoughts. If today was 'The Day'… He knew what was happening to Jenny right now. Slug and PC… he wasn't there to stop it. He had to go!

He disappeared from the room without another thought.

AN: Yes, well, I'm not going to do an authors note for every single chapter! 


	2. Part 2

(Small copy of L.J. Smith at the very first here… yes, it's intentional!)

Part 2

Jenny glanced back over her shoulder. They were still behind her, on the other side of the street but definitely following. They matched their pace to hers; when she slowed to pretend to look in a store window, they slowed, too.

Something about this whole scenario gave her such a sense of de-ja-vu that she wanted to stop and ask the boys if she had ever seen them before; she knew that that was insane. Two tough guys had never followed her before… she had never had to sneak around the bad part of town just to get a game before. She could only blame this on the awful week that she had had. Still, she had to admit, she was rather scared.

She veered off into Eastman, hugging the wall and listening to the thudding of her heart and her breath coming in sharp gasps. She looked around in front of her, there was nothing but a blank wall.

_But there should be a store around here somewhere, or a picture… on the wall! _She wanted to scream as her breath quickened; she could hear the tough guys advance. She couldn't believe this… this was really happening, something awful was going to happen. Nothing awful had happened to her in her whole life, and suddenly this?

**_And why did it all seem so familiar!_**

****Her self-pitying thoughts were interrupted by one of the two tough guys voices. "Hey there pretty pretty, why you runnin'? Don't ya wanna play?" They were standing right in front of her!

"Oh no," It escaped her lips in a half groan. She straightened slightly, and took a cajoling tone to her voice. "Please," Her voice broke and began to shake… "Just leave me alone."

The boy with the bad skin gave a gruff laugh. "Now why would we wanna do that?"

"I-I…" She was so scared. She wished that Tommy were here; Tommy or Dee would take care of this problem.

"Come on now sweetheart, we ain't gonna hurt ya! Lets have some fun." He began to advance towards her, his eyes flashing darkly, sweat gathering at the base of his bandana.

"No, please!" She cried out as he pressed himself against her, his hot breath washing over her face.

"Now now sweetheart, you can't say that you don't like this." His lips slid across her neck, warm and wet, making her sick to her stomach. This couldn't be happening… it couldn't. The other boy pinned her arms up over her head, and she knew that it was.

When the other boy began to fumble with her shirt, two hot tears slid down her cheeks and she closed her eyes, turning her head away and shutting her eyes tightly. She wouldn't look… this wasn't happening. She waited for the inevitable. She waited.

And waited.

It never came.

Were they just playing a game with her? She opened her eyes a sliver see what was going on, and saw one of the most amazing things she had ever seen in her life.

He stood there like a knight defending her honor, his hands twined in the flannel shirt. His posture radiated pure menace and anger, and his white hair showed like silver in the dim light.

The sinewy muscles in his arms rippled as he gave the boy a violent shake, pulling him away from Jenny. Her arms fell limply to her sides as she looked at him.

The boy in the bandana realized exactly what was going on at about the same moment that Jenny did. He grabbed Jenny's limp arms and began to run, dragging her along behind him. She heard a sickening 'pop' and a wave of nausea washed over her as her ankle twisted violently.

The boy heard it to.

"Get _off of her_!" His voice shattered through her senses, agonizingly musical and angry at the same time. She suddenly saw his eyes. They shone in the dimness like flinty steel, at the moment fixated on the boy who was still lightly gripping her wrist. They were the most amazing… indescribable color that she had ever seen.

He threw the boy in flannels without a second thought, and Jenny watched him smack roughly against the wall. The blue eyed boy rounded on the one holding Jenny, fury written clearly across his face.

Apparently the boy with the bandana saw it as well. "Hey, m-man what's the problem?" A fine tremor was now running along the blue eyed ones body. That tremor was echoed in the bandanaed boys words.

As quick as a snake striking, the blue eyed boys hands flashed out, and Bandana released Jenny and tried to run. He was thrown beside his companion, just as roughly. They looked at one another, there eyes flashing from the boy to Jenny.

Those blue eyes suddenly flickered to Jenny, and the raging look disappeared. Concern crossed his features, and he held out a hand to her. "Are you okay?" His voice was so elemental… like water running over rocks.

She could have sworn that she knew him from somewhere.

As if in a trance, she held her hand out to him, and answered dreamily. "I am now." Smooth, cool fingers slid around hers, and he pulled her to her feet. With a flash of searing pain, her ankle gave out beneath her.

Before she could fall, he caught her. With one liquid movement, he picked her up, holding her like you would a small child. She suddenly felt small. She smiled shyly up at him. "Thank you."

He smiled down at her, his eyes filling with some emotion that she could not discern.

"I'm Jenny." She finally said, unable to think of anything else to say with those infiltrating eyes peering down at her.

A small flicker of a smile appeared at one corner of his mouth, as if her introduction humored hum. Still, he also introduced himself. "I'm Julian." Julian…

He smiled down at her once more. "How care is your house, I'll take you home?" He, of course, knew exactly how far her house was, but disclosing that particular bit of information wouldn't do a very good job for him, now would it?

Jenny smiled up at him and quickly gave directions. After he started walking, she simply snuggled into his chest, absorbing the warmth that emanated from him. She listened to the thud of his heartbeat, lulling herself to a state of almost slumber.

Julian started off towards her house, in a slight daze. He was holding her in his arms and she was letting him. She was snuggling against his chest, and she wasn't afraid. He loved his, her voluntarily in his arms, her breath playing lightly against his neck. He looked down at her, and her green eyes flashed up to meet his, thankfulness and a small smile in them.

He loved being able to hold her in his arms, he loved her turning that smile to him. He would live in the shadows for an eternity… just for this one day.

Jenny saw Dee and the others running towards her, concern flickering in their eyes as Julian trudged onto her lawn.

"What happened?" Dee said, her voice lilted with concern, her eyes taking in Jenny's swollen ankle and Julian's arms holding her protectively.

"Who is _he?" _Tommy asked, jealousy snarling across his handsome face.

Of course, Audrey asked the exact same question… her tone was just a tad different. Different enough that Michael shouted out a loud protest of, "Hey!"

More questions were thrown in her direction, and Jenny was pulled sharply out of her half dazed state. "Guys!" She had to shout it before they all stopped. "Could we go inside, and then I'll tell you all about it. Please? I'm sure that Julian is just a little tired of holding me by now."

_Oh Jenny, I could never tire of it._

But he trudged inside of her house… he was invited into Jenny's house… it was another experience that he had never thought would happen. Once inside, he deposited Jenny onto the couch, and sat down beside her. She smiled sweetly at him, then turned as Tom sat down on her other side, jealousy still clear in his eyes.

_Any possible way that I could kill him this round? Save me a lot of trouble… _Of course he knew he couldn't… but it didn't stop him from envisioning every gruesome thing that he could do while Jenny waited for everyone to settle down.

"Now then," Dee said, her black eyes flashing, "spill."

Jenny gave Julian a nervous look, chewing on her lower lip (that small action made Julian want to whisk her away), but he gave her a reassuring smile, urging her to continue with his glance.

She told the whole story.

Silence filtered through the room afterward, only broken by everyone's harsh breathing.

"Oh my GOD!" Dee yelled loudly, rage in her voice. "If I had been there…" She got up, performing a fluid kick-punch motion, a look of grim satisfaction on her voice.

"That must have been awful Jen!" Audrey cried after Dee's little show.

"Thank goodness that Julian was there!" Summer added squeakily.

"Oh yes, thank _goodness._" Somehow, Julian detected a bit of sarcasm in Tommyboy's voice. _I am going to kill him._ He thought it again, grimacing as Jenny gave Tommyboy's hand a tight squeeze.

Julian wasn't going to let him get in his way this 


	3. Part 3

Part 3:

Julian couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of Jenny and Tommyboy sitting there together, cuddling… holding hands. It seemed to amaze him that he had been here this long and not sent that ignorant boy into the Shadow World to be torn apart by his elders. It was such an appealing idea…

He looked around the room, taking in the appearance of the people sitting comfortably around him… the people who had ran screaming from him before:

Deirdre… sitting there with her long legs sprawled on Mrs. Thornton's blondwood coffee table.

Audrey and Michael sitting on the couch together. Julian, of course, knew that they really loved each other. He had figured that out when they defeated the Tunnel of Love and Despair together. Who would teach that to them now, if not he?

Summer. Sweet, ignorant Summer who for the second and most of the third game was thought to be dead. Julian couldn't bring himself to kill her, even though she was his rightful prey. He had watched Jenny, and knew how much she meant to her. He couldn't and wouldn't do that to Jenny. He had the plan of keeping her for Jenny, so that she could have company when he won.

Zach, spaced out, thinking about how the world of fantasy was so much better than reality. Either that or of Jenny… Who would teach him that fantasy had claws?

His attention was reluctantly drawn back to Jenny and Tommy. Tommy, who was his number one problem… He never could see what Jenny saw in him, he was self-centered and overprotective. Julian had watched once as he nearly killed a boy for asking Jenny to go on a date with him. He had, of course, completed that task where no one could see him. The boy had pleaded a bike wreck….

That was of course, when everyone saw them as Jenny-and-Tom, a single unit. He growled in disgust, knowing that it would be a challenge to not kill or at least torture him somewhat.

"So…" Audrey filled in the silence. "I fixed food, if you guys are hungry?"

A light filled Tom's eyes. "Summer, why don't you go and get seven plates so that we can eat."

Julian could take the hint. Seven plates, and he would make eight. He knew how to take the hint of being kicked out. He started to stand to leave, morbid thoughts once again dancing through his head. _I could just kill him now… _A blue fireball started to form in his hand, his temper getting the best of him. However, it died down at what happened next.

In a tone that clearly said Tommy had made a stupid mistake, Jenny corrected him. "Eight plates."

"Thorny," Julian hardly kept back a growl of disgust, "There are only seven of us." Jenny opened her mouth to protest, and Tom hammered on. "Dee, Mike, Aud, Summer, Zach, You and Me. That makes seven." He spoke to her as if she were slightly off of rocker.

Julian had seen Jenny crumple at that tone before… but something close to anger flashed through her eyes. "What about Julian?" Her tone clearly said that she was stating the obvious. Julian felt warmth spread throughout his whole body. It was chased by tingling bursts of happiness as Jenny took his hand, as if to further make her point.

"Oh," Tommy's nearly growled out. "I wasn't aware that he was invited."

"Tommy," She said, looking up at him with a pitiful (and rather fake) glance. "He saved my life, or at least my dignity. Don't you think that you could _at least _show him enough gratefulness as to allow him to stay and eat?" This was the first time that Julian had ever heard her speak so sharply to him. A smile crept across his face, which he quickly hid with his hand.

"I didn't think of it that way." Tom said, clearly as shocked as Julian that she had argued with him.

"Jenny's right." Dee spoke up, sliding an arm as hard as a boys across Julian's shoulders. "You could be a little more grateful to the guy, even if he is a bit of a mystery." She looked at Julian, who had no idea what to do about her arm around his shoulder. "Thanks for saving Jen." She gave a wink and went back to her perch.

"I'm shocked." Audrey said, standing and thanking Julian. "Deirdre was finally right about something." Dee flashed her a dirty look, tinged with a small smirk.

Michael had followed Audrey, sticking a hand out to Julian. He slowly took it, shaking back. "Thanks." Michael said, quickly darting back with Audrey.

Zach stood and gravely shook Julian's hand as well, saying nothing as he returned to his seat.

Summer, in contrast, broke into uncontrolled sobs and flung herself into Julian's arms, nearly choking him with her hug. "Thank you for saving her! She could have been killed or hurt… or… or…" She continued to sob onto his shirt until he was thoroughly drenched until she abandoned his wet shirt for the bathroom.

Everyone in the room looked at Tom expectantly. He glared defiantly at them all, and they stared right back at him. Tom looked down, but didn't move from the spot.

Jenny moved for him.

"Thank you again Julian." She gave him a hug, and kissed his cheek, whispering. "Thank you so much." A hungry smile flickered across his mouth, and he battled the temptation to take her right then and there… or at least kiss her back. Their gazes held until Tom jerked Jenny back to him, his arm going around her shoulder and hugging her tightly to him. Julian's jaw clenched tightly, trying to keep himself from saying something that would revoke his invitation.

"Jenny, let's go get some food." Tom glared at Julian as though he had committed some deadly sin. Jenny nodded in agreement, but her green eyes continually flickered to Julian, giving him one of the strangest looks.

And so… everyone at. They ate at the table instead of in the living room like they did on the night of the game. Julian was, surprisingly, placed beside Jenny.

Jenny didn't know exactly what it was about Julian had drew her to him… aside from his amazing looks, and his shocking eyes… She simply dismissed it as gratefulness. However, she knew that she needed to talk to him alone to figure out exactly _what _it was going on inside of her.

The whole 'girls spend the night thing' had been canceled, even though Audrey protested in a vivaciously false tone. It was clear that she was still worried about Jenny, and didn't want to leave her alone.

The problem, of course, was how to convey the message to Julian. If she just outright told him that she wanted him to stay afterward… she couldn't exactly predict what Tommy would do, but she knew that it wouldn't be pretty. And so, she was in the bathroom, doing one of the craziest things that she had ever done in her life.

She scrawled across the note, 'Please stay after the party… we need to talk'.

She was going to give it to Julian.

Julian's eyes followed Jenny as she made her way back into the room. Something was suspicious was going on, and yet he was awed just at the site of her, no matter how many times he saw her she always amazed him.

However, the suspiciousness once again leaked into her voice as she smiled brilliantly and offered to get the dishes. She collected everyone's plate but Julian… when she came back the second time to get his, she slid a piece of paper into his hand. His fist clenched tightly around it.

He looked up… it was nearly midnight, and near time for everyone to be leaving. He snuck a look at the paper as he walked towards the living room, and his heart leapt in his chest.

"I need to get going." He walked slightly in front of everyone, pausing to look back at them.

**"Goodbye!**" Tom's voice rang out to him, overly excited. Julian hid a smirk on the inside, walking out the door without a second glance back.

He waited, crouched in the brushes outside of the Thornton house, watching everyone leave. He ticked them off slowly, until Tommyboy finally left. Jenny was alone, standing out on the porch, her weight resting on one ankle. He was going to have to fix that She was waiting for something… waiting for him.

He stood, brushed himself off, and walked towards her.

"Hey." She said, shyness once again creeping into her tones.

What else could he say? Jenny, I love you? "Hello." He would have to settle for that, he supposed.

"I… umm…" She looked down at the ground, not sure what to say now that she had him alone to say it.

"What is it." The gentleness in his tone made her tremor. She looked up, answering.

"I just didn't get the chance to thank you properly before." He thought back to the hug, _that was more than enough. _

"Well…" He was cut off by her lips pressing against his. Shock swept through him, followed by a surreal sense of sweetness. This was honestly happening… she was kissing him. Of her own free will. He assumed control of the kiss, softening it, yielding himself to it, making it perfect.

She pulled back breathless. "There." She smiled up at him, satisfaction and a fraction of passion still lingering in her eyes. "Just don't tell Tommy that I did that. I…" She faltered slightly, as if thinking. "I don't want to lose him," _Pity… _"But I think that that is a little more appropriate than a hug." He smiled down at her.

"So, I'll… umm… see you around." Julian knew that he needed to go. He didn't want to give her an overload. He quickly said a rune under his breath, placing a small healing energy towards Jenny's ankle.

"Yeah… see you around." She looked nearly as forlorn as he did as he walked away.

She couldn't know what it meant to him… what it did. Towards the end of the third game, he had known that she would never kiss him openly like that, not of her own free will, and certainly not in a show of gratitude.

The only thing that the kiss did… was further convince him that Tommy had to go. 


	4. Part 4

Part 4:

Julian walked from Jenny's house, thinking about what to do. One part of him wanted desperately to rush up to Jenny, sweep her off of her feet (after giving Tommyboy a sound thrashing) and keep her with him forever and always.

His common sense, however, rules against this. The reason that he didn't have her before was because he had rushed the process. What he wanted more than anything was just to see if, even if it were only like he had watched for so many years. He could never touch…

Only once had he touched, and it had been a mistake. It had been the time that he decided that Tommy would have to go.

Memory swept over him.

Set when Jenny was 15 

Julian saw the sweet girl, his Jenny, walking with the _boy._ It was night time, and he could feel it deep inside… something awful was going to happen.

Jenny was very comfortable with her boyfriend, but she didn't want the relationship to move as fast as this hormone struck boy did. When Tommy got a little 'friendly', she jerked back from him.

"Tommy," She said sweetly, "aren't you taking this just a little far."

"Now, now Jen." His voice was cajoling… convincing. "I'll call the shots. When I'm going to fast, I'll tell you." Julian's eyes narrowed as Tommy pinned Jenny against the wall. "See?" He grinned.

"Tommy, **stop!**" She gave a cry as he tugged at her clothes, trying to glimpse something beneath. She began to cry in full; Julian snapped. He couldn't save her, he couldn't come into her world… not without being called.

"Help!" She finally screamed out, seemingly looking right at Julian. "Help!" She cried again and again. "Please…" She whispered softly as Tom kissed her neck.

The final, defeated cry was too much for Julian, and he took it to heart. He convinced himself that the cry was meant for him, and passed between the worlds in a torrent of anger.

He threw Tommy, very roughly, to the ground, knocking him out.

"Jenny?" He said questioningly to the frightened girl who was flattened against the wall.

"Who are you?" She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. His heart ached with the knowledge that he could not tell… it wasn't time yet.

"I'm just a shadow Jenny… I was never here. You're dreaming, go on back to sleep." He put his arms around her and picked her up.

"Sleep…" She murmured, snuggling tightly against his chest.

His heart ached with the knowledge that he would have to erase this from her memory. It hurt him so bad to know that she couldn't remember this moment. He threw one look back at Tom, banishing the thought from his mind as well before vanishing. He appeared in Jenny's room, still holding her tightly to his chest.

"I can't believe that Tommy tried to-" Julian cut her off with one slender finger pressed softly to her lips.

"I wont let him hurt you ever again… I promise you that. If nothing else, you will be safe from him. Now go back to sleep and forget all of this. Forget tonight… forget Tommy's actions. Forget—" He took a deep breath, forcing himself to continue. "Forget me."

"I could never forget you." Her breathing had already slowed, and her eyes fluttered in sleep.

_Yes, _Julan thought, being jerked back into reality, _you will._

Back to Normal Time Now! 

Julian had always disliked Tommy before that point, but he could put up with him simply because he made Jenny happy. Now… now he couldn't even think about the boy without wanting to kill him. He banished the thought from his mind, returning the apartment that was obviously his residence.

The real question was… what was he going to do about Jenny?

He could always… No… he couldn't possibly…

And yet the idea appealed to him… he could go to school with her. He could become her friend, and then let her know exactly how he felt. Once she knew… once she knew, he could have her.

A smile crept across his face… _Maybe then I can do something about Tommyboy. _


	5. Part 5

Part 5:

'I fell in love with you Jenny, I didn't do it on purpose.' Jenny woke with a start, those words echoing in her ears. Who had said that? Where had that come from? Who was it that she had caught a glimpse of just before she woke?

She shook her head slightly, pushing hair out of her eyes as she sat up. It was nearly time to get ready for school anyway, so she got up to take a shower. She didn't realize exactly how shaken up she still was about the previous nights events until she started crying in the shower. She realized at that. She pressed her head against the wall, letting the hot water jet down over her shoulders… maybe things would just be normal.

And Julian?

With an exasperated sigh, she realized that she would probably never see him again.

Julian, at that moment, was letting jets of hot water cascade across his lean body. It felt wonderful just to stand here, no plotting, no games. He was simply… getting ready for school.

With just a small tweak, of course, he had fixed it to where he would have classes with Jenny. That was the important thing, to have as much contact as possible with her. He only, after all, had a week. That voice… He had said that Julian and Jenny were soulmates. Julian had already known that… he was just going to have to convince Jenny of it. It surely wouldn't be that hard, she HAD to feel the same connection that he did whenever they kissed. The sense of coming home after a long journey…

He got out of the shower, white strands of hair falling wetly into his eyes as he decided what he wanted to wear today. With a small flick of his hand, he was standing in his bedroom, fully clothed and dry. He adjusted the leather jacket once over the blue shirt, and looked at his reflection.

The blue in the shirt seemed to make his eyes even more vibrant… Hopefully the week would be enough. He would talk to her when he could… surely she could see the connection… surely she would.

And if not…

He shook his head slightly… It had to work out… He wouldn't have sent Julian back if he knew that he couldn't fix things. In the mean time, going to school with her, and then maybe going to see her after would assure him contact with her as much as possible.

He just hoped that it was enough. 


	6. Part 6

Part 6:

At school, Jenny met up with the gang as always, standing towards the front entrance, waiting for the bell to ring, and the rush to class. Her ankle had been surprisingly all better that morning (ahemJulianahem), and she stood perfectly. Michael was just getting into one of the 'Our Generation' speeches when Jenny saw him.

White hair, flashing like silver amongst everyone else. She would have noticed him sooner if he hadn't had a group of admirers around him. She saw his face then, slightly confused. In one hand, he gripped a schedule; in the other he held a backpack halfheartedly. He looked like he needed to be saved.

It was about then that Audrey noticed him. "Oh my God, is that Julian?"

Tommy's head twisted around, an ugly expression on his face. "Where?" Jenny gave him a small hug, then detached herself from his side and waved at Julian. His eyes lit up, as if she were his savior, and he waded his way through the crowds and to her.

"Jenny!" He sounded to relived… and… something else. She still couldn't quiet figure out what it was in his voice every time that he said her name, and she didn't want to dwell on it.

"Julian!" A warm smile spread across her face as he joined them, slightly breathless and hassled.

"Hey, I was wondering if I would see you." Something like amusement flickered through his eyes, but she didn't wander why.

"Julian, I didn't know that you went to school here." Dee said, her black eyes flashing once more to the group of fawning girls. "Dude, I think you need a body guard."

Julian's eyes flickered over his shoulder. "I need something like that."

Dee's eyes flashed wickedly, but Jenny cut off her next response. "Well, obviously you're new. Let me see," She pulled his schedule gently from his hands, reading it. Audrey read it over her shoulder.

"Jenny! He's got the same classes that you have!" Scanning the paper, Jenny saw that she was right. She smiled warmly at Julian.

"That means that I can show you around today." She smiled again, handing him back the paper. "It won't be bad, I promise."

Tom gave a scowl… Julian just smiled gratefully. "Thank you. I would get lost here if I had to forage for myself. I don't even know where I'm supposed to eat lunch." Julian tossed that out, a hopeful note in his voice that no one in the group could misunderstand. Everyone but Tom gave a small smile.

"Well, of course," Michael began, "There's always the group right there," he pointed towards a group of people standing together. "That's the computer group. You don't really want to hang around with them…" He continued naming off people, and everyone in _their _group laughed slightly. Finally he turned the gesturing finger on himself. "Then there is us. The _cool _group." Of course, Michael had denounced everyone else, so they had to be the cool group. "I think that you'll want to join us if we can find the room."

Summer smiled sweetly. "Of course you'll eat with us!" She seemed to give a small clap, her tiny body bouncing slightly with the words she spoke. Julian gazed around the group.

Aside from Tommyboy… they all accepted him… as if he had belonged to them his whole life. It wasn't just Jenny… it was everyone. He had come back expecting to take Jenny away from protesting friends…. At the rate it was going, they were going to hand her to him with a bow atop her head.

"Oh, of _course._" Once again, Julian could not mistake the sour note in Tommy's voice. Neither, apparently, could Jenny.

"Don't worry Julian, I will personally assist you to finding the perfect person to sit with." She smiled at him as the bell rang. "Come on then, I'll show you our first class." Julian cringed as she leaned over and pecked Tommy quickly on the cheek, promising to see him at lunch. However, his mood brightened as she took his arm and wheeled him off towards their first class… He would have paid great amounts for a photograph of dear Tommy's face.

If it had not been for Jenny, who stayed by his side throughout the day, Julian didn't think that he could have made it. By the time lunch rolled around, he was reminded of exactly how strange and exotic he looked… The _teachers _even looked at him like he was a piece of candy…

"Come on," Jenny said, tugging on his arm, lunch in hand. Julian had also brought his own lunch. He wasn't going to risk this… human made food. Jenny led him to a grassy spot outside, where many of the group were already sitting in a half circle. The only one mysteriously absent was Tommy.

"Where's Tom?" Jenny asked as soon as she sat down, unconsciously scooting over and making a spot for Julian beside her.

"He had to run back and get his lunch. He forgot it."

_Idiot…_ Julian thought to himself, inwardly smirking. Out of sight, out of mind. The more Tommyboy was absent… the more Julian could make his move. At that moment, however, he was unwrapping his lunch.

Michael whistled when he saw it. Dee's brows hiked, and Audrey gave him a rather strange look. Julian looked down at the food in his hand.

"What?" He said it as innocently as he could before taking a small bite of the steak-ish type meat.

"How do you keep it warm?" Michael asked, sheer interest now in his voice.

"It's the bag." Julian explained quickly… the bag which was traced on the inside with the rune Kenaz… but he wasn't going to disclose that information at the moment. He wasn't sure how well they would take it.

Jenny just smirked softly at him. "That's great." She looked down at his food, then held up her sandwich. "Trade you."

Julian smiled, and handed her the food. "You keep both, I'm not hungry." Jenny laughed softly, taking it from him…

Tom, scowling once again and looking at the laughing Jenny, sat down beside them.

Going home that day, Julian was slightly perplexed. Jenny was acting so warmly towards him… yet he couldn't quiet figure out…

He sighed, looking around. When he saw that no one could see him, he quickly disappeared, reappearing in his apartment, his eyes closing wearily as he collapsed onto the bed. He couldn't believe that he had went to _school_. It was such a trying experience. Maybe if he just told Jenny that she would never have to go to that Godawful place again…

With a sigh he opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling. Tomorrow was Saturday… Jenny would be off of school, and through sheer luck, he already knew that Jenny was going to be home. He would just have to go and see her tomorrow.

Tomorrow…. 


	7. Part 7

Part 7:

That night Jenny had a dream. She could tell that it was just that by the way the world flashed by so quickly. It was nothing but him and her… she had never dreamed of him before… but then again she had only just met him. She was seeing something, almost like short clips of the past.

The first was a picture of her and Julian standing in a house she had never seen before… The words from the dream that she had previously forgotten echoed through her head. "I fell in love with you Jenny, I didn't do it on purpose…" A hungry look flashed through his eyes.

She felt something ripple through her before she fell into the next picture. Julian's fingers were in her hair, and she was leaning in to kiss him… She wanted to kiss him desperately, but she pulled back.

The next flash was of her standing in a room with a clock. Tom and everyone else was there with her. She was standing near Julian, and strangely familiar words came from her mouth. "All I refuse and thee I choose." She kissed him and the memory went dark, picking up on a scene of her and Julian in a closet… the paint hat flashed through her eyes as she left him there… everything inside of her screaming for her to go back to him.

The next thing she saw was a swirling blue vortex. She and Julian stood beside it, him holding her upright. In the next moment, she pushed Julian in and ran.

Now she was in Joy Land park, walking through… it faded to a cave scene… Julian was looking at her with lost and confused eyes… and she was kissing him.

Suddenly she was in a tunnel rushing through dirty water to get to him. "I care about you!" This vision faded also, finally coming to the last.

Julian visibly staggered as the deformed monsters cut the long piece of wood. A silvery liquid spilled out, and Julian fell. He was pulled into the hallway, and she was crying… He looked so brave.

"Nothing ever dies as long as it's not forgotten…" His blue eyes were closing and his breath was coming slower and slower… Finally a whispered word… "Your ring."

Blue energy and he disappeared.

All of the images faded, and she was standing on a plane of nothingness. Julian stood before her, looking strangely innocent.

"Nothing dies as long as it's not forgotten." A hurt look appeared in his eyes. "Jenny, you forgot me."

"I-I… didn't forget you." Even as she said it, she couldn't remember what it was that she had forgotten. She looked at his clenched fist, and watched as a gold ring dropped to the floor at his feet. She looked back up just in time to watch him disappear. His words echoed around…

"Jenny, you forgot me."

"No!" She screamed, jerking out of the dream. She was sweat soaked… she didn't even know what the dream had meant!

What did it mean? She laid back down, and four soft words escaped from her lips…

"I didn't forget Julian…" She didn't even realize that she had said them as she disappeared into darkness… into sleep.

Julian had watched the whole process, seeing the dream play out before him as she woke. He panicked for a moment, just knowing that she would remember, and his masquerade would be up. However, he watched as she laid back down and went to sleep. He heard the soft words escape her lips, and semi grimaced. However, warmth spread through his body as he heard his name spill from her lips.

He didn't know what to do about this, except hope that she forgot by morning…

He looked back and saw her now tossing restlessly in a nightmare. The nightmare… the one that she had had to face in the game.

He knew what he could do about this. He disappeared from his place of watching to her room, coming up beside her bed. "Jenny… shhh…" he murmured softly to her, and she reach out to him. It took all of his control to not take those hands. He remembered the promise of sweet dreams that she had made as he died… He would show her what sweet dreams were. He quickly closed his eyes, changing her dream to one of a light blue sky… she would never be able to describe its color. Someone walked beside her in the sunshine, and he couldn't make himself decide who it was… that was for her.

He quickly pulled out of the dream, not wanting to see her and Tommyboy walking along hand in hand…

However, if he had stayed just a moment longer, he would have watched that shadowed face that form… he would have seen a pair of blue eyes flashing in happiness as they walked along.

If he had waited just a few more moment before disappearing without looking back, he would have heard these words spill from her lips…

"I love you, Julian. 


	8. Part 8

Part 8:

Jenny woke up that morning with sweat fringing the roots of her hair. She had dreamed of Julian… and every time he died at the end. There was nothing that she could do about it, no way she could change it. She had the strange desire to run to him and see if he were okay. He always just died… faded away into energy, slipping through her fingers like air. Every time she had cried and turned to Tom… and somehow that seemed to wrong to her. She was getting a headache just trying to figure it out. Somewhere deep inside of her, she felt that it should have been Tommy that disappeared… it should have been Julian that she turned to to cry on. She, however, would never truly admit that to herself.

What she did need to do was find Julian…. She didn't even know where to begin. She didn't know where he lived! She sighed, waking up and pulling her cloths on. She quickly ran a brush through her hair, and went to the door. She would just have to walk for a bit and see if she could find him.

However, the answer came knocking at her door, a rose in it's hand.

"Hi… I ahh…" He made a small motion, as if to step forward, then stopped. "Here." He handed her the white rose. For a moment it seemed to flash silver… it reminded her of something. With a small shake to her head she took the rose, instinctively rubbing it against her cheek. Julian's eyes widened for only a moment before he smiled.

"Come on in Julian, I was just thinking about talking to you." She smiled warmly.

_Great, _Julian thought inwardly, _just great. _He bit his lower lip. _She is going to tell me how I'm coming between her and Tom, and how she just wants me to leave. _He braced himself for it.

What came instead was quiet unexpected. Jenny threw herself onto his shoulder and cried for all that she was worth. His arms automatically came up to surround her, and he stroked her hair, trying to comfort her. He murmured soothing words, and when Jenny finally calmed down enough to speak, she didn't remove herself from his arms. If anything, she clung tighter.

"I'm sorry," She hiccupped slightly, "I didn't mean to just… attack you like that. I've just been having this dream."

He shook his head… he thought that he had quieted her dreams… apparently he hadn't. "Tell me about it."

Just his voice soothed her, and she didn't know why. She took a deep breath and told him about it. "And in the end, I always run to Tommy."

His face fell…

"But I don't want to."

Hope suddenly flared inside of him. She was still in his arms, and he prayed that she would never pull back.

"Well… Jenny… it's just a dream. You don't even really know me that well." It hurt him to say it, but it seemed like he had to.

"But Julian… I feel like I do, like I should. Even if I don't… even though you're almost a stranger, I want to… I want to get to know you." She didn't know what was making her say these things, but she knew that it was coming from her heart.

She looked up at him, and realized suddenly that there faces were mere inches apart.

"I think that I want to get to know you… I want to know who you really are." She repeated herself softly.

Julian was so tempted at the moment to just whisk her off to the shadow world and keep her under lock and key while she was acting like this, looking up at him with her green eyes so full of love. He had to clench his hands to keep them from running up and down her body.

"I think that—" Julian was cut off as he heard footsteps outside. Right before the door opened, he sprang from Jenny, sitting down on the couch and looking for all the world like he had been there all along.

"Hey Thorny." Tom looked down at her, and then his eyes flickered to Julian. "What is _he _doing here?"

"I—" Jenny was panicking, but Julian quickly cut in.

"I came to get my jacket. I left it here before." He produced a leather jacket from behind him quickly.

"Oh." Tom said, suspicion and anger still very apparent in his voice.

"Tommy… I'm not feeling too well." Julian's eyes widened. She was trying to make Tom leave!

"Well Thorny, why don't I stay here with you."

"Tommy… I think you need to go, I don't want you to catch whatever this is. It feels like it's going to get bad." She looked pleadingly and pathetically at him.

"Are you sure?" He asked her again, feeling her forehead with one hand while holding her cheek with the other.

"Yeah, I think I'm just going to go to bed." She gave Julian a sideway look. He got the meaning.

"Okay, I think that WE are going to leave then." He went over to Julian, taking his arm ever so roughly.

"Oh… yeah…" He left the jacket on the soft, trying looking from it to Jenny. He was trying to tell her that he would be back. She got the message.

When Julian and Tommy were at the door, she went to the couch and picked up Julian's jacket.

"Don't forget this." She brought it to him. Their eyes met, and a small smile flickered on her lips, quickly fading as she looked back at Tommy.

"See you Tommy." She watched him walked outside and get into the car. She then watched as Julian came back.

"Hi." A small spout of laughter bubbled from her lips.

"Hey."

"Come in, quick." She looked up and down the street, and grinned again as she pulled him inside.

"Jenny, I—" He was once again cut off by her coming to him and wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm so confused." She hiccupped softly.

_Yeah, me too._ Julian thought as he stroked her hair softly.

"I don't know what's going on… I just met you, but I feel so…" She looked up and this time there lips brushed. It sent shivers through Jenny and a pure wave of sweetness through Julian.

Julian leaned down again, making their lips brush once more. Jenny didn't resist. Instead, her hands flew up, tangling in his hair as she kissed him back.

It was soft, and Jenny was trembling only a few moments after it started. Her knees gave way, and, instead of supporting her, Julian sank to the ground with her.

Kissing Tom had never been like this… he was always so demanding… it was always so hard and it left you breathless.

Julian left her breathless for a whole different reason.

She pulled back slightly and murmured softly… "I feel so right with you." They kissed again.

_Oh Jenny! _Julian was thinking. _I cant believe it. After all of this time, and you came to me… I love you Jenny… I love you, I love you… _He was so deeply absorbed in his thoughts and the kiss that he didn't hear the new footsteps as they approached. When the door opened, neither could seem to pull apart from the other.

"Jen!" Came a rather shocked voice.

Jenny looked rather guiltily at the figure who stood with hands on hips at the door. 


	9. Part 9

Part 9:

Jenny stood wide-eyed as Dee walked into the room.

"Uh…" She was blushing under her nightdark skin. "I— was I interrupting something important?" She looked out the door, and quickly spoke. "You're in luck that I did… Tom is coming." She looked pointedly at Julian. "I would hide if I were you."

She shoved him into a closet, shutting the door and leaning against it just as Tommy entered.

"Hi Tommy." Jenny said, her hand automatically smoothing down her hair. She put on a weak voice, faking sickness.

"I just thought that I would come back, now that Julian is gone. I figured you were just making me leave on his behalf." Dee's brows hiked at that. Jenny was glad that Tom could see her. Her look clearly said, 'You better explain this as soon as we're in the clear.'

"Tommy, I really don't want you to catch this." Jenny said softly. Dee once again gave her a look. This one said clearly, 'I betcha Julian will catch it…' Her white teeth flashed momentarily in amusement.

"Dee is here." He pointed across the room at her.

"Yes… well…" Jenny didn't know what to say.

"I'm her because I came to bring Jenny some cough syrup." It was an extremely pathetic reason, and she was sure that Tom would see right through it.

"Well…" Tom looked around for a moment.

Dee, regaining her cool, picked up again. "Besides, I'm her friend, not her boyfriend. I wont be kissing on her, so I can be here." Tom gave her a small look.

"Yes Tommy, and I really wouldn't want you to get it." That was sounding rather old… She gave a pathetic cough.

"But Jen…"

"Go on and get out!" Dee yelled at him, shoving him towards the door. That's when he saw the rose. He looked at Jenny, anger flashing through his eyes.

"Where did _that _come from, and don't you tell me that Dee brought it." He growled out.

"Mom got it for me for my birthday." Finally, a lie that sounded plausible.

"Don't be stupid." He said rather harshly.

Julian was getting rather angry from his prone position in the closet. Tommyboy shouldn't talk to Jenny like that. Julian wanted to get out of the closet and tell him exactly that… of course… right now he was trying to make his nose stop itching.

"Look Tom, why would I lie to you?" Jenny smiled cajolingly at him.

"Because… someone else… a guy brought it to you." A cold look crept into his eyes.

"What other guy do you think would do that!" Jenny said, a small amount of guilt traced in her voice.

"Julian." Tom didn't even have to think about his answer. He had seen the way that they had been looking at each other. He wasn't an idiot… (or so he thought).

Dee looked at Jenny, then at the closet. A sniffing noise could be heard. Tom, however, ignored it as he glared at Jenny.

She bit her lip guiltily. "You didn't see it when you were here before, did you?"

"Yes… well… he could have came back! He might even be here right now."

"He's not!" Jenny said, just as an extremely loud sneeze emitted from the closet. Tom and Jenny both whirled around, and Dee quickly put her hands up to her face, and snuffled.

"Excuse me." She grinned, rubbing her nose.

"I don't think so." Tom growled, and started to stalk towards Dee.

"Tommy!" Jenny yelled suddenly. He couldn't go to the closet… he couldn't! She did the only thing that she could think of. She pulled his face between her hands and kissed him as hard as she could. It was so strange but… for the first time she really didn't want to kiss him.

She glanced over Tom's shoulder as Dee quickly pulled Julian out of the closet and pushed him into the kitchen. Tom started to turn around, and Jenny quickly pulled him back to her.

After a few moments, with Julian safely hidden away in the kitchen, and Dee standing back in her place, she let Tommy go. He was smiling. She had to force herself to do so. She had never realized how much control he had of the kisses, and how rough it was… now Julian, on the other hand…

"I'm sorry Thorny." Tom said, the smile still in place. "You couldn't kiss me like that and possibly be messing with Julian." He gave a rueful smile. "I guess I just got a little jealous when I saw you leading him around." He placed an arm on her shoulder and gave her a brief hug. "Sometimes I just forget how good you are."

She smiled weakly. "It's okay." She suddenly remembered that she was sick and gave a cough. "If you get what I have now, I'm blaming you."

Tommy laughed. "I deserve it, just… I'm sorry. I guess I'll get out of here before I stick my foot any further into my mouth." With a smile, he left.

Julian's head peeked around the corner. "Is he gone?"

Jenny nodded, and Julian came back out to stand beside her.

Dee stared from one to the other. "You better start explaining Sunshine." Jenny smiled ever so slightly as Julian picked up the rose and offered it to her. She took it, her fingers smoothing over the petals lightly.

"Guys!" Dee said, watching the interaction. "What's going ON?" Dee knew what was going on… and she wasn't positive that she liked it.

"Well…" Jenny said helplessly…

"Deirdre," Julian said, as if to explain. However, when he said her name she got a flash of something she wasn't even sure happened. She was standing by a clock with Tom and Jenny and the others. Julian was there saying something. "I am only hungry for one thing at the moment Deirdre." There were two luminous animals beside him… a wolf and a snake… Creeper… Lurker. Dee snapped back to reality, the trail of thoughts slipping away.

"Dee? What's wrong?" Concern lilted Jenny's voice.

Dee looked at Julian suspiciously. He returned it with a look of mild humor at the whole situation. It just goes to show you, you can take the shadow out of the man, but you'll never take the man out of the shadow…

Jenny nibbled at her lower lip, and finally blurted out… "Dee, you don't tell Tommy will you?"

Dee looked at her like she was crazy. "Of course I wont." Her dark eyes once again flickered back to Julian. There was something about him…

"Thank you." Jenny smiled, hugging Julian.

"But when are you going to tell him?" Dee leaned against the wall, looking at the couple.

Jenny sighed. "I suppose I'll tell him tomorrow."

Dee nodded. "You do need to tell him."

Jenny gave a sigh; Tom would throw a fit. "I'm afraid of what he'll do."

Julian, ever the helpful one, proffered up a suggestion. "I could just kill him." The dirty looks he received from both girls was extremely humorous, but he put his hands up in defense. "Joking!"

He was starting to remember why he didn't like Jenny's other friends very much. 


	10. Part 10

Part 10:

Julian couldn't help but look at Jenny after Dee left. It had taken nearly an hour to explain to Dee exactly what had happened, then another hour of Jenny getting assurance that Dee wasn't going to tell Tom. She was going to tell him, but she just had to figure out how to do it.

Julian was still completely willing to kill him, but whenever he mentioned it… he got a rather strange look from Dee. More than once during their conversation, Dee seemed to be looking into something from the past. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he didn't like the suspicious look that kept creeping into her dark eyes.

Dee was on the verge of remembering something very important, and she wasn't sure exactly what it was. She knew that it was about Julian, and that it involved their group… but she couldn't place her finger on exactly what it was. She kept on receiving flashes of things… moments that she couldn't possibly have known. When Julian had told her his last name was Shadow… trills of fear rippled through her body. That was completely ridiculous, of course. There was no reason for her to be suspicious of him. The only that that he had ever done, apparently, was care about Jenny. She didn't want to remember anything… Ice and Shadows…

The memory once again passed as if she had never seen it. It was all so confusing. She knew he wasn't going to hurt Jenny, but the warning signals wouldn't quit flashing every time that she saw him.

She gave a resolute sigh as she left. She was going to figure Julian Shadow out if it was the last thing she did.

Julian left soon after Dee.

Jenny felt so strange. She had gone to lie down, and tried to sort through exactly what was going on. She loved Julian, she knew that now… but she kept receiving odd feelings from him, something that she couldn't understand.

Things he said, things he did… it brought back memories of times that Jenny had never spent with him. For instance, after yet another offer to kill Tom, Dee had asked if he had ever committed murder before. Julian's lashes had dropped, and he had murmured, 'That would be telling'. A scene came to her mind instantly. She was in a dark hallway…

'Was it you up there on the ship?' she had asked him. She didn't even know what ship they were talking about… but Julian looked inhuman… amazingly bright in the darkness of the hall.

His lashes drooped. 'That would be telling.'

The flash ended, and she thrust it away happily. She didn't understand it, and she didn't want to. The closer she got to Julian, the more rapid these flashes appeared. She didn't like it. 


	11. Part 11

Part 11:

Tom was so angry with Jenny, but even more so with Julian for coming into her life and taking her away from him. Jenny belonged to him, she was his and that was how it was always supposed to be. She wasn't supposed to go to Julian… after the kiss they had shared…

She had lied to him.

He could still remember the accursed conversation well.

His phone had rang, and he had picked it up. "Tommy?" He knew something was wrong by the way that she said his name. Softly, almost as if she were afraid of what she had to say.

"Yeah Thorny?" He tried lightening her mood by calling her the nickname.

Silence followed for a moment.. "I… hmm…" She sounded so lost and confused.

"Come on Thorny, you can tell me anything. You know that." Of course… he hadn't expected what came next.

"I think that we should— I don't think we— Tom…" She paused, then he heard her take a deep breath. "It's over."

"It… it's what?" Disbelief had traced through his voice. "Jenny… what's over."

"Me… you… Us." Her voice was getting stronger now, her conviction growing.

"Jenny, you can't mean it. You can't do this to me. You're mine." He practically growled into the receiver.

Something about the way that he said that prickled Jenny the wrong way. She answered him curtly. "No Tom, I am not! I don't think that I ever was." She hung up the phone just as Tom threw his against the wall, shattering it.

Julian was so happy. There was no way that this could go wrong now! Jenny had broken it off with Tommyboy and happily pegged herself as his. She had told everyone in their group, then spent the whole day with him on Sunday. At school on Monday, the strange looks they had received were met with her proudly lifting her chin and gripping his arm.

Tom hadn't showed up…

Now Julian sat on his bed, having just come in from school. Jenny was going to call later… He laid on his stomach, petting the Shadow wolfs head. Tom hadn't killed him this time, so he was still alive. Julian was extremely happy when he had discovered this. The Shadow Wolf was his friend and companion.

_There is no way that this can go wrong now… I'll get to stay with Jenny. _After this day, there was only two more days left until it was permanent. There was no way that it could go wrong.

Of course… whenever anyone says something like that… they are proven terribly wrong.

Tommy knew why Jenny had left him, and he fully planned on killing Julian. He just had to find him first. Using his so called 'charm and good looks' (or for all of the Tom haters: Utter annoyance and inflated ego, topped with arrogance) he found out where Julian was staying from one of the councilors at school. He now stood at his apartment door, which was slightly cracked open. He peeked in.

There was Julian with a… wolf. Yes, it was a wolf that sat beside Julian, lolling it's tongue as if it were only a large dog.

Tom was remembering a nightmare he had… one that had really happened. He was remembering something that he wasn't supposed to remember. It had all started with one game that was never meant to happen, and turned out exactly how it did… Julian was a shadowman!

Julian knew before he hit the stairs that someone had been looking into his room. It was careless for him to have left his door open!

The real question was who had been staring? He went to the door and looked, finding nothing more than a small boy peeking in.

"Were you looking in on me and my friend?" Julian's voice was cool.

"Yes." The boy answered in a rather small voice.

"Well… did you see anything of interest?" Amusement dripped into Julian's voice.

"Only the doggie." The boy gestured to the Wolf who now stood behind Julian at the door.

Julian gave a small nod. "Why don't you run along now back to your mother?"

"Okay." The small boy spun and ran, as if he were grateful for getting off this easy.

Julian gave a sigh and went back into the room, closing the door tightly behind him. If only he had known who had really been looking in… things would not have turned out like they did. 


	12. part 12

Part 12:

Julian and Jenny weren't at school the next day. Tom was so angry! If he knew where they were, then he would have told Jenny right then! It didn't matter. He knew how to get rid of Julian now. He couldn't kill him without a runestave, but he could banish him back to the Shadow World permanently.

He thought to the bullet with the rune Nauthiz engraved on it. Once he shot that through Julian's heart, he would go spiraling back into the Shadow World and hopefully stay there forever.

Right now, however, he needed to figure out where Jenny was.

"This is beautiful Julian." Jenny smiled sweetly at him. They were sitting at the top of a mountain, watching the sunset. It had been Julian's idea for them to take the two hour trek to sit here, and Jenny was glad that they had tried it. It was one of the most amazing moments in her life.

She leaned into him with a small smile.

"I love you Julian."

The look in his eyes was worth everything. "I love you too…"

The next day, Jenny woke up. Her mother had said that Tom had dropped by the day before, and had something to tell her. But… no matter how insistent she had been trying to figure out what had Tom so desperate to talk to Jenny… he had simply said that he would be back tomorrow to talk to her, bright and early.

Which was why Jenny was going over to Julian's for breakfast.

Tom came by the next morning, fully intent on telling Jenny bright and early. This was the day! Jenny was going to come back to him, and everything was going to be good again. They would go together and banish Julian. It was all going to work out.

He knocked on the door.

"Good morning Mrs. Thornton!" He said brightly as she opened the door. She smiled at him.

"Good morning Tom."

"Can I see Jenny?" His hand under his jacket was caressing the gun.

"I'm sorry Tom, she went over to Julian's for breakfast."

Tom didn't give her any time to say anything else. He pivoted on his heel and took off running in the direction of Julian's apartment.

Jenny had just finished her plate of food. "That was wonderful! I didn't know you were such a good cook."

Julian gave a modest smile, laughter spilling from his lips. "Well, you'd be surprised at the things you picked up over the years."

"And how many years would that be?" She laughed with him.

Julian shrugged, a playful smile crossing his face. "A couple of thousand." She punched his shoulder playfully.

"Oh really." She smirked.

"Really." He said gravely, getting closer to her. He knew this was right. At exactly twelve he would be here forever. That was the exact moment that he had woken up… at noon. Fifteen minutes, and they would be together forever. He smiled down at her.

Their lips brushed as a shot rang through the air. 


	13. Part 13

Part 13:

Jenny jerked violently as the gun shot rang past her head. The bullet thudded into the wall next to them, and she looked back to see who the maniac with the gun was.

Tom aimed once more for Julian and she reacted without thinking. She jumped forward and snatched the gun from Tom, backing up. She pointed it at Tom. "What are you doing Tommy?" Her hand shook in front of her.

"I was trying to protect you!" He shouted back.

"From what? I don't see anything here that's going to hurt anyone except for you!" A snarl crossed Tom's face, and he looked pointedly at Julian.

"I do."

Julian suddenly knew. He knew that Tom was the one who had stood outside the door before… Tom knew… and he was going to tell Jenny…

There was only seven minutes left before twelve.

A growl emitted from Julian's lips. "If you wouldn't spy on people, we wouldn't have these problems."

Tom laughed sharply and answered. "I'm going to tell her. She'll remember everything, and then she'll hate you." He turned to Jenny.

**_"No!" _**Julian shouted, starting towards Tom.

"What are you talking about? Tell me what?" Jenny seemed to be the only one left in confusion here.

Tom smiled.

"He."

"No!"

"Is."

"Tom, don't tell her!"

"A."

"Oh Jenny…"

"Shadow Man."

"I love you." The defeat was clear in Julian's voice.

Suddenly, everything clicked for Jenny. She remembered everything. She took a step back, the gun now wavering between the two… she didn't know which one to protect from the other. The dreams, the memories, the confusion! It all made sense to her now.

"Why did you lie to me?" Tears sprang into her voice as she asked him.

"I… it was supposed to be different this time. I was getting a second chance… He said it would be different." He lowered his eyes. "I was trying what you told me… no games." Suddenly he looked up. "It doesn't matter, I should have known it wouldn't work. When the clock strikes twelve, my times up. I only had a week." One tear slid down his cheek, and Jenny's heart broke. "I'm sorry Jenny."

But now that she remembered… she wasn't going to let him into her heart. She couldn't… he tricked her… he…

"Shoot him Jenny! Straight through the heart! Send him back to the Shadow World forever. Send him back to where he belongs!" Urgency rang through Tom's voice.

Jenny's head hurt however… She was remembering EVERYTHING that had been erased in her memory… including the night that Tom had attacked her… the night Julian had saved her. The night he had left her lying there peacefully, because… he loved her.

Once again the gun wavered through the two.

The clock began to strike.

**_One._**

"I love you Jenny."

"Shoot him!"

**_Two._**

"Remember what he is, what he did to you! Summer almost died!"

She remembered the look Julian had given her when he gave _Summer back. _

"I'm so sorry Jenny… I never meant to hurt you again."

**_Three._**

Memories… Julian laying on the floor, gasping for life as she clung to Tom.

**_Four. _**

Her dream…

'You forgot me Jenny.'

'No, I didn't forget.'

_**Five.**_

'I want to get to know you…' She had said that to him…

"Jenny, what are you waiting for! Shoot him!"

_**Six.**_

Words… words that had been said. 'I fell in love with you. I didn't do it on purpose.'

Something Tom had said… 'I know I'm not good at showing it at times, but I love you Jenny.'

_**Seven.**_

I'm so sorry Jenny, I really am."

"Don't listen to him! Just shoot!"

_**Eight.**_

****"Don't let him live! Kill him now!"

"Please…" Complete defeat… "Just make it fast."

**_Nine._**

****"Jenny! Listen to me, kill him now!"

"I'll always love you…"

**_Ten_**

****More memories.

'I felt like I should have been in your arms Julian, not his.'

'I'll call the shots. When I'm going to fast, I'll tell you.'

Eleven 

****Nothing dies as long as it's not forgotten.

"Pull the damn trigger now! Don't be stupid!'

****"I know you didn't forget Jenny… and I know you wont. I love you."****

**** Tom pulled out a second gun, leveling it at Julian.

_**Twelve**_

****As the last strike rang through the apartment, Jenny aimed the trigger and pulled. 


	14. Epilogue

Epilogue:

Jenny felt tears slide down her cheeks as the last memory finally flashed through her mind. In her dream, when she was walking in the light, she was holding Julian's hand. She had told Julian that she loved him… not Tom.

She watched as Tom slid to the floor, a shocked look on his face. His shot went wide, missing Julian and thudding into the wall.

"Jenny." Tom said, his voice ragged. "You're mine… how could you do this to me… to us…"

"Tom, there isn't an us… I love Julian." She looked down at him, taking his hands, trying to comfort him. She had, after all, only shot him in the shoulder.

Tom looked at them both, seething. "If he got a second chance, so will I! I'll come back and I'll kill you both!" Tom pulled his gun up level and shot himself.

Jenny passed out.

Jenny woke held tightly against someone's chest. "I'm so sorry Jenny." He was murmuring it over and over.

"Oh Julian…" He looked down at Tom.

"I'm sorry about that too." He just held her tighter.

"Well…" She sighed as she heard the police cars approaching. "I'm not."

Tom rook a deep breath… was he alive? Why was it so hot?

He opened his eyes, and looked upon a world of flames.

"Welcome to Hell Tommy!" Said a rather slick voice.

"Julian got one more day! Where's mine!" Arrogance surged through his voice.

"Oh yes. You'll get one more day… and another and another to watch as Julian and Jenny are happy together.

Tom screamed as flames licked at his body…

"Did I tell you how much I loved you today?" Julian murmured, his lips in her hair.

"Only a few thousand times." He smiled down at her.

"Well, I love you."

She looked up. "I love you too." They had gotten off virtually scott free from the Tom case. Everyone in the whole apartment had hear him shouting like a mat man, and Jenny's mother even testified that he was crazy. Everything was okay… they were together. Jenny's friends had accepted Julian and Tom's death rather easily. Apparently, they had realized exactly how crazy Tom had been acting. Everything was perfect.

"So, how do you like seeing the sun and walking in it?" Jenny asked after a few minutes.

"I love it." Jenny smiled up at him. "But I love you more… I would give all of this up," he made a wide gesture, taking in the whole world around him. "Just to have one more day with you."

A tear slid down Jenny's cheek, and Julian kissed it away.

The heavens seemed to be smiling down, shining brightly for them… for their life… for just one more day.

AN: Well then people that was it! I hope that you liked the rewrite. I hope that you people will actually read it too! 


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